Hi Derek,
I have both a C3S and an MA5B. Don't bother with the MA5B. If you don't
want to go the steppir route, then I'd consider the C3SS, but I'd think the
steppir would be the best choice.
As far as cranking up/down, it's doable for almost anybody. The question is
how long does it take you. I know the 55' crankup used at one FD site I've
been to took 3 guys working 2 shifts of about 2 minutes each to raise it (so
about 10-12 minutes). But if you figure that's 2 minutes 4 minutes off, the
time expands quite a bit with only one person.
I've rarely heard of any problems with the motor drive systems. Also, at
least the US Tower models have a "positive pull down" feature on their motor
drives which actually pulls the sections down rather than relying on
gravity. Prevents sections from getting jammed if you're trying to lower
the tower when it is windy.
Good luck with your decision.
73 de Al, KE1FO
-----
Check out my Amateur Radio Contesting blog at ke1fo.wordpress.com.
On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 8:43 PM, Derek Cohn/WB0TUA <vibroplex@mindspring.com
> wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I have finally decided to get off my butt and see about getting a tower put
> up. I live in an inner ring suburb in the St. Louis, MO area with not much
> property so I'm looking at neighbor pleasing options.
>
> Two towers that I'm considering are:
>
> * US Tower MA-40 with a free standing base
> * Force 12 LPT-1242 bracketed so it's free standing
>
> For low visual impact antennas, I am considering the Optibeam OBW10-5,
> Force 12 C3SS, or Cushcraft MA5B.
>
> I'm looking for advice....
>
> My neighbors are reasonalby supportive but I would like to crank down the
> tower when I'm not using it. I'm a reasonably healthy 47 year old and I'm
> wondering if those towers are easily cranked down. I know that the US Tower
> has a motor accessory but I'm trying to keep it simple to avoid failure,
> maintenance, etc. Does anyone on this list have one of these that they
> crank up/down manually? Is it easily do-able for a healthy guy?
>
> Are there any other neighbor friendly tower options that I should consider?
> Are there any other antenna options I should consider?
>
> Thanks for any advice you guys can give me,
>
> Derek Cohn
> Morse Telegraph Club - Alton Chapter
> Office UD, Sine DJ
> Amateur Radio Station - WBØTUA
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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